Historical series Itaú BBA launches trading platform for institutional clients
Using proprietary technology, the tool electronically reconciles buy and sell orders for stocks.
October 28 – This month Itaú BBA launched the Itaú BBA Cross platform to assist institutional clients, both local and foreign, in market operations. The tool was developed with proprietary technology and aims to ensure transparency, liquidity, and lower volatility in asset prices for large transactions. Part of the Itaú Unibanco Group, Itaú BBA is the unit responsible for corporate clients and for acting as an investment bank, serving institutional investors and companies with annual revenues above R$ 30 million. Leonard Linnet, Head of Equities at Itaú BBA, explains, “Itaú BBA Cross is 100% aligned with the bank’s momentum in relation to innovation and investment in technology, and has as its credentials all the liquidity and predominant participation of Itaú Unibanco in the domestic market, in addition to highlighting the capacity to develop proprietary technology and the expertise to customize market operations with exclusive filters.”
The tool provides an uncomplicated electronic trading environment, in which the institutional client places their demand, whether it is an order to buy or sell assets, without going through any intermediary. The transaction is only executed on the stock exchange when a counterparty is found, that is, the system itself identifies if there is a proposal that matches the requested one, without the need to go through a negotiation table. In a conventional large transaction, companies seek liquidity through brokers, which are the intermediation agents, or via an auction to match the flow of those who want to buy and sell. “With the platform, this type of operation becomes automated and there is no risk of the institutional investor’s strategy being exposed, while respecting the maximum concentration parameters established by B3,” says Linnet. The minimum order volume is 10,000 shares and the maximum volume respects the parameters defined in B3’s operation regulations. The expectation is that as the platform gains popularity among institutional clients, it will be responsible for a relevant part of the direct business within the brokerage house.